Fractions Worksheets — Grade 5 & 6Free Printable PDF · CBSE Class 5–6

Simplifying reduces a fraction to lowest terms by dividing both numerator and denominator by their HCF. Equivalent fractions are any fractions that represent the same value — a simplified fraction has infinitely many equivalents. When a CBSE worksheet says 'simplify', find the HCF and divide. When it says 'find an equivalent fraction', multiply or divide both parts by the same non-zero number. Both concepts appear from Class 5 onward.

The denominator tells you the size of each piece. 1/3 and 1/4 are different-sized pieces — adding them as 2/7 is wrong for the same reason that 1 apple + 1 orange ≠ 2 apples. You must first convert both fractions to have the same-sized piece (a common denominator) before the numerators can be meaningfully combined. CBSE Class 6 introduces this formally; the medium and hard difficulty worksheets include unlike-denominator addition.

The word 'improper' suggests incorrectness, but improper fractions — where the numerator is larger than the denominator, such as 7/4 — are completely valid. They represent a quantity greater than one whole (7/4 = 1¾). CBSE Class 5 teaches conversion between improper fractions and mixed numbers. The medium difficulty worksheets include both forms and require students to convert between them.

No. Multiplication of fractions needs no common denominator — multiply numerator by numerator and denominator by denominator directly: 2/3 × 3/5 = 6/15 = 2/5. The common denominator requirement is specific to addition and subtraction, where you need same-sized pieces before combining. This distinction trips up students who over-apply the addition rule.

Multiply the two denominators together — this always gives a common denominator, though not always the smallest. For 1/4 + 1/6: use 4×6=24. This gives 6/24 + 4/24 = 10/24 = 5/12. Finding the LCD (LCM of denominators, here 12) produces smaller numbers: 3/12 + 2/12 = 5/12. For Class 5 practice, multiplying denominators works reliably. For Class 6 and beyond, learning the LCM method keeps numbers manageable in harder problems.

Class 4 introduces fractions as parts of a whole — numerator, denominator, proper/improper. Class 5 covers equivalent fractions, simplification, comparing fractions, and adding fractions with like denominators. Class 6 introduces unlike-denominator addition and subtraction. Class 7 covers all four operations on fractions including division. The Grade 5–6 fractions worksheets span the Class 5 and Class 6 syllabi across three difficulty levels.